White Street in Historic Downtown Wake Forest Photo by M T Bostic/Shutterstock.com
NORTHERN EXPOSURE Living, Working and Playing North of Raleigh
BY KELLY MCCALL BRANSON
The secret is out; the Triangle is a great place to live. Excellent jobs, an affordable cost of living, abundant recreational and cultural opportunities, good schools and mild winters are drawing folks to the area like bears to honey. Just ask the nearly 30,000 people who move to the Raleigh metro area every year. But when we say “Raleigh,” we’re actually talking about more than just the city’s limits. These days, when folks move to Raleigh, they’re more than likely moving to the outer edges of the city or one of the many small towns that surround it. But these areas are more than just suburbs of Raleigh; they have their own history, identity, landscape and amenities — new neighborhoods, springing up in old towns, for the best of both worlds. One of the fastest growing of Raleigh’s outer circles is the northeast corridor up US 1/Capital Boulevard. As Raleigh grew, and home builders looked further afield for land to build new homes, some 20 years ago, the northern reaches of Wake County began, to take off, with the development of large master planned communities like Wakefield Plantation, Bedford and Heritage Wake Forest. These neighborhoods offered a little more (brand new) house for the money, maybe a bigger lot and 22
loads of amenities, like golf courses, walking trails, swim clubs and pocket parks. And, as the saying goes: “if you build it, they will come.” Well, come they did. And along with all the new places to live, also came lots of new places to shop and dine, do business and play. The completion of the first quadrant of the I-540 Outer Loop made for easier connectivity with the greater Triangle. The 2002 opening of Triangle Town Center brought next-level retail to the area. And the construction of WakeMed North meant a full-service hospital, including an emergency department, surgical facilities and pregnancy and childbirth services, was much closer to residents of these new/old communities. And of course, where there are hospitals, so too are doctors’ offices and medical complexes. The A.E Finley YMCA, one of the biggest Y’s in the region, was renovated in 2011 and includes indoor and outdoor pools, basketball courts, full workout facilities and day camps. The Northeast Regional Library of Wake County, completed just over five years ago, is a state-of-the-art 20,000-square-foot facility adjacent to Wakefield Plantation.
www. NewHomesAn dIdeas . c o m
